Category Archives: Robbie Burns Day

A world record for the longest continuous reading of Robert Burns poetry will be set in Vancouver on Burns Day January 25th

This special message from Leith Davis, director for the Centre for Scottish Studies, Simon Fraser University.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 7:04:12 PM

A reminder to come and join us to set a world record for a marathon reading ofBurns's work! Participants include: Andrew Petter, President of SFU; ChristopherGaze, Artistic Director of Bard at the Beach; Bob Lenarduzzi, President of theVancouver Whitecaps and many more!

The procession, haggis addressing and official opening ceremony will start at 8:00am. See you there! Leith

The Centre for Scottish Studies invites you to join SFU's bid to set a world recordfor the longest recitation of Robert Burns's poetry and songs. Join us in recitingthe work of Scotland's bard for 4.5 hours!

This free event is open to the public so please come and cheer us on for the Robbie Burns Day celebration. There will be refreshments and entertainment for all!

Haggis, shortbread, coffee and tea will be served throughout the event.

*We would like to thank our sponsors of the event: The British Store; Goodricks Meat Products (New Westminster); and the West Coast Liquor Company (Vancouver); and Radio Dial Entertainment (Vancouver).

Allan McMordie and I took Haggis wonton
and Haggis shu-mei to Global Morning News. Sophie Lui and Steve Darling
said they were delicious, they even had seconds!

We did two segments. The first was cooking. I heated up some fried rice, and added haggis. Meanwhile, both Sophie and Steve tried the haggis wonton and haggis shu-mei that had been pre-prepared by the Float Restaurant the night before.

For the second segment, Allan played Scotland the Brave on his bagpipes, then I performed the first verse of Robbie Burns' immortal poem – The Address to the Haggis. We bantered a bit about how our event makes Chinese New Year safe for Scottish-Canadians, and makes Robbie Burns Day and haggis safe for Chinese-Canadians. Sophie ate the spicy jellyfish, but Steve politely declined.

We also talked about how we have set Robbie Burns lyrics to a Johnny Cash song and Allan lets me play my accordion in his celtic ceilidh group, The Black Bear Rebesl. Sophie said she loved all the fusion and fun of our event.

January
25th, 2012 marks the 253rd birthday of the famous Scottish bard, two days
after January 23rd Chinese New Year welcoming the Year of the Dragon
– the most auspicious and sacred animal of the Chinese Zodiac.

Gung
Haggis Fat Choy has become synonymous with cultural fusion and fun.Often imitated, but never as successful,
musical, poetic, delicious, historical nor educative.

FEATURED 2012 Performers:

Hosted
by Tetsuro Shigematsu and Toddish McWong

Fred
Wah – Parliamentary Poet Laureate

Jan
Walls – Chinese clapper tales and Chinese scholar

Harry McGrath – Robbie Burns Immortal Memory

Black
Bear Rebels Celtic Ceilidh ensemble

Gung
Haggis Fat Choy Pipes & Drums

Lots
of dragons + surprises!

In
1998, “Toddish McWong” held a small private dinner for 16 friends with food,
haggis, poetry and songs – from both Scottish and Chinese cultures and thus was
born –
Gung Haggis Fat Choy – Now it is a dinner for 400 people!

More
thana traditional dinner with music
and poetry.Gung Haggis Fat Choy
re-imagines a traditional Robert Burns Dinner format, within a BC or Canadian
historical context that puts Scottish-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian pioneers on
an inclusive and equal platform, while acknowledging historical racism and how
we move beyond it. This event has grown to alsocelebrate contemporary Scottish-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian
artists and poets and their innovations to create something uniquely Canadian.

15 Years of Highlights for
Gung Haggis Fat Choy & Toddish McWong:

1998 – 1st Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner for 16 people in a living room.

The Globe & Mail editor had suggested having the pictures taken in Vancouver Chinatown. I suggested to the photographer that we meet at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Classical Gardens – currently nominated as one of the Great Spaces in Canada. You can vote here for the Gardens

photo Deb Martin

Deb took some pictures of Raphael taking pictures of me. The top and bottom pictures were posed exclusively for Deb, after Raphael had left, as we took advantage of the wonderful setting.

photo Deb Martin

This is me reading Robbie Burns' poetry to the pet dragon on my right shoulder. Somehow, I thought this would make me more scholarly if we took the picture inside the Scholar's Study.

The Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens looked incredible with the freshly fallen snow, and the red lanterns set up for the Chinese Lunar New Year season. On January 29th, I will be returning to the gardens to play accordion with my fellow musicians in the Black Bear Rebels Celtic Ceilidh ensemble for the Chinese New Year celebrations. We play 2 sets at 2:30 and 3:30pm. The parade starts at 12 noon and goes to 2pm, so be sure to visit us!

You
can be part of a film about the Scottish flag

– to be unveiled on
January 25th, 2012, Burns Night.

all you have to do is take pictures
with the Scottish Saltire flag in the middle of the picture….

Every now and then, I get emails or invitations for Scotland… check this out!

Firstly let me introduce myself. I am Graham Maclachlan, the Head of
Community and Content at Blipfoto.com. I'm writing to let you know of a
project we are doing in partnership with the Scottish Government which I
hope you'll be able to support.Basically,we're making an
animated film based on images of the Scottish flag gathered from around
the world. We launched Wednesday, St Andrews Day, and already have
submission from all around the world, including, Iraq, Scandinavia,
Japan, China and of course Canada. I've enclosed a copy of the Press Release which I hope you'll find time to read and a link to the micro sitehttp://www.blipfoto.com/theworldoverIt would be great fun to get you and you fellow Burn's devotees to participate in this exciting project.Please don't hesitate to drop me a line if you want anymore information or helpBest regards Graham

Hello Graham

I
actually have a real Scottish flag, that I attach to a hockey stick and
prop up at the back of a canoe… when we proclaimed Tartan Day in
Vancouver a few years ago….

Excellent I hope you join the fun – you can put up as many daily shots
as you wish between now and Burns night. It would be great to see the
Dragon in the film. As long as the flag fits in the the loader template
it should be fine.

Excellent Todd and thank for pass it over to Simon Fraser, it looks like
their going to participate too. Everyone here is looking forward to
seeing Mr Toddish McWong and his chums flying the saltire once again.

The images can't be from an archive-they have to be new images, one a day and posted through the uploader.

Take a picture like this with the Saltire in the middle of the picture!

But while this picture was taken on St. Andrew's Day Eve for Homecoming Year Scotland in 2009. You can't use archival pictures.

Keep
the saltire small and leave enough space either side for at least two
more of the same size. If you're in any doubt, take a step back and leave
more room!

People around the world will collaborate this winter to produce a social media movie and celebrate Scotland's global community/ spirit/ reach/ influence.

'Scotland the World Over' invites everyone to take part and photograph a Saltire wherever they may be and upload the image to www.blipfoto.com/theworldover .

Scots and Scots at heart will build a film, one frame at a time, by simply uploading pictures with a Saltire centred in the frame. What surrounds the Saltire in the rest of the image is entirely up to the participant. The finished film will then be premiered worldwide on Burns Night 2012 (January 25).The initiative is hosted by BAFTA Award-winning life sharing social networking site www.blipfoto.com – which shares over 1.5 million images from over 170 countries, each representing a single day in someone's life – in partnership with the Scottish Government.

‘Scotland the World Over’ was launched on Tuesday 29th November by Cabinet Secretary for Education Michael Russell.Michael Russell Comments, “Scotland the World Over” is a great idea and will provide a fantastic showcase to celebrate Scotland both home and abroad. As a nation, we've always enjoyed a strong International profile and this wonderfully exciting project can only build on that.”“I'd encourage as many people as possible to get involved, whether they're here at home or abroad. We welcome anyone across the world with an interest in Scotland to take part. I'm now looking forward to Burns Night with even more excitement and to seeing the wide variety of iconic images we're no doubt set to capture''.

Joe Tree, founder and CEO of Blipfoto, said: “Blipfoto is a truly global community, but we're very proud of our Scottish roots. There's an obvious parallel between the way Blipfoto reaches out and touches people's lives around the world and the positive global influence Scotland has long enjoyed”.

“We share a real outward-looking spirit, so we're delighted to launch such an exciting event and I'm really looking forward to the big reveal on Burns night next year”.

The name for Scotland The World Over was inspired but the final line of the Robert Burns poem A Man's a Man for A' That: “That Man to Man, the world o'er, Shall brothers be for a' that.

The initiative is not just for Scots or those living in Scotland. People from as many different countries and cultures are encouraged to have a go.

picture by Patrick Tam from the 2009 Gung Haggis Fat Choy DinnerSpecial for 2012Every year, we invite new people to perform and co-host. For 2012, there is Chinese New Year theme emerging… because midnight will be the start of Chinese New Year's Day, Year of the Dragon!!!Tetsuro Shigematsu – Co-hosting duties are the responsibility of the inscrutable and irreverent samurai expert from the tv show “Deadliest Warrior” – better known as a comedian, writer and film maker. Tetsuro
himself is very intercultural, very Gung Haggis. While he is technically of
Japanese ancestry, he was born in London England, and raised in Quebec. I first got to know Tetsuro back in
the early 2000's when he was a member of the sketch comedy group, The
Hot Sauce Posse. Soon after he was the new radio host for CBC Radio's
“The Round Up” replacing Bill Richardson.

Fred Wah is the just announced Parliamentary Poet Laureate. He is winner of both the Governor's General Prize for Poetry (Diamond Grill) and BC Book Prize (Is A Door). Fred is a true Gung Haggis-Canadian with both Scottish and Chinese ancestry, all dominated by his Swedish mother.

Dr. Jan Wallsis beloved in both Chinese and Academic and other circles. He is a scholar of Chinese language, as well as a former cultural attache for the Canadian Embassy in Beijing. We love him because he performs the ancient tradition of Chinese clapper tales. We are daring Dr. Walls to set the poetry of Robert Burns to the rapping beat of Chinese bamboo clappers.

Other
performers include Gung Haggis Pipes & Drums, and the Black Bear Rebels celtic ceilidh ensemble…
More on them in later posts…

The Arrival

What are you wearing? Kilts and tartans, as well as Chinese jackets and cheong-sam dresses are preferred. But our guests are dressed both formal and casual – be comfortable, be outrageous, be yourself. If you want to wear a Chinese jacket or top, paired with a kilt or mini-kilt… that is great!

We might have a kilt fashion show for 2012… we might have a Chinese cheong-sam fashion show… we will see what happens. One year, one guest dressed up like a Chinese mandarin scholar. Another year, two guests dressed up as cowboys.

Arrive Early:

The doors will open at 5:00 pm, All tables are reserved, and all seating is placed in the
order that they were ordered.

If
you bought your tickets through Firehall Arts Centre, come to the
reception marked Will Call under the corresponding alphabet letters. We
have placed you at tables in order of your purchase. Somebody who
bought their ticket in December will be at a table closer to the stage
then somebody who bought it in mid January, or on the day before the event. We think this
is fair. If you want to sit close for next year – please buy your ticket
early.

If
you are at a table with one of the sponsoring organizations: Historic
Joy Kogawa House, ACWW/Ricepaper Magazine, Gung Haggis dragon boat team –
then somebody will meet you at the reception area and guide you to your
table.

The Bar is open at 5:00 and Dinner Start time is 6:00

We
expect a rush before the posted 6:00pm
dinner
time. We have asked that the 1st appetizer platter be placed on the
table soon after 6pm. Once this is done, we will start the Piping in of
our performers and head table. We sing “O Canada” from the stage, and
give welcome to our guests. “Calling of the Clans” is done for sponors, and reserved table clans – if you would like to have your clan or group announced, please reserve a table of 10.

Buy Your Raffle Tickets:

Please
buy
raffle tickets… this is how we generate our fundraising to support
this organizations dedicated to multiculturalism and cultural harmony.
Food prices have been rising, but we have
purposely keep our admission costs low so that they are
affordable and the dinner can be attended by more
people. Children's tickets are subsidized so that we can include
them in the audience and be an inclusive family for the evening. We have some great door
and raffle prizes lined up. Lots of books (being the writers we
are), gift certificates and theatre tickets + other surprises.

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team
continues to promote multiculturalism through
dragon boat paddling events. Some paddlers wear kilts, and we have been
filmed for German, French, and Canadian television documentaries + other

Historic Joy Kogawa House committee joined our family of recipients in 2006, during the campaign to save Joy Kogawa's childhood home from demolition. The Land
Conservancy of BC stepped in to fundraise in 2005 and purchase Kogawa House
in 2006 and turn it into a National literary landmark and treasure for all
Canadians. In 2009, we celebrated our inaugural Writer-in-Residence program.

The FOOD

This year haggis dim sum appetizers will
again
be served. Haggis is mixed into the Pork Su-mei dumplings which we introduced a few years. This year we are adding vegetarian pan-fried turnip cake to represent “Neeps and Tatties.” Our signature dish is our deep-fried haggis won-tons served with a special sauce.

Soon
after 6:00 pm the dinner formalities begin. People
are seated, and the Piping in of the musicians and
hosts begins. We will lead a singalong of Scotland the Brave and give
a good welcome to our guests, and have the calling of the clans – all
the reserved tables and large parties of 10. This is a tradition at
many Scottish ceilidhs (kay-lees), or gatherings.

From then on… a new dish will appear somewhere around 15 minutes –
quickly followed by one of our co-hosts introducing a poet or musical
performer. Serving 40 tables within 5 minutes, might not work
completely, so please be patient. We will encourage our guests
and especially the waiters to be quiet while the performers are on stage.
Then for the 5 minute intermissions, everybody can talk and make noise
before they have to be quiet for the performers again.

Expect the unexpected: This year's dinner event is full of surprises. Even I don't know what is going to happen. The idea is to recreate the spontaneity of the very
first dinner for 16 people back in 1998 – but with 400+ guests. For
that very first dinner, each guest was asked to bring a song or a poem to share. I
don't want to give anything away right now as I
prefer the evening to unfold with a sense of surprise and
wonderment. But let it be known that we have an incredible
array of talent for the evening.

Poetry
by Robbie Burns and Chinese Canadian poets. What will it be? We often
like to read “Recipe for Tea” – a poem by Jim Wong-Chu, about the
trading of tea from Southern China to Scotland

Our non-traditional reading of the “Address to the
Haggis” is always a crowd pleaser. But
this year, audience members might also be reading a different Burns poem to
tie their tongues around the gaelic tinged words. Will it be “A
Man's A Man for All That,” “To a Mouse,” My Luv is Like a Red Red Rose,” or maybe even “Tam O-Shanter?”

The evening will wrap upsomewhere
between 9:00 and
9:30 pm, with the singing of Auld Lang Syne – we start with a verse in Mandarin
Chinese, then sing in English or Scottish. Then we will socialize further until 10pm. People will
leave with smiles on their faces and say to
each other, “Very Canadian,” “Only in Vancouver could something
like this happen,” or “I'm telling my friends.”

Seattle Met magazine features a story about Toddish McWong and Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner in Seattle!

Check out this story in the Seattle Met magazine, about Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner history, Toddish McWong origins and the upcoming Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year dinner in Seattle.

Adventures in Multiculturalism

WHAT DO ROBERTBURNS,
haggis, lion dancers, and the Chinese New Year have in common? That
would be Toddish McWong, aka Todd Wong, a fifth-generation Chinese
Canadian. Wong created Gung Haggis Fat Choy, a Scottish and Chinese
cross-cultural holiday that has spread from Canada to China and
Scotland, and earned him an introduction to the Scottish First Minister.
In 1993, as a student at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia,
Wong was asked to slip on a kilt and help out with a campus Robert Burns
supper, a nod to the eighteenth-century Scottish poet.

Wong took a shine to the poetry recitations—including Burns’s
“Address to a Haggis”—but not to the music (bagpipes) or the food
(haggis: sheep innards minced with oatmeal and simmered in the animal’s
stomach). He donned the tartan, but complemented his costume with
elements of the Lunar Chinese New Year—he covered his face with a lion
mask and carried Chinese food instead of haggis. “I thought, This is a
really interesting way to look at multiculturalism—to flip stereotypes.
So I called myself Toddish McWong.”

He hosted the first public Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner in Vancouver,
BC, in 1999, celebrating Scottish and Chinese cultures. And people from
all over the region have flocked to it, including Bill McFadden of
Seattle’s Caledonian and St. Andrew’s Society (he’s Clan MacLaren).
McFadden convinced Wong to bring the event to Western Washington in
2007. Since then hundreds of Seattleites have showed up to devour
deep-fried haggis wontons, sing along to “My Haggis-Chow Mein Lies Over
the Ocean,” and hear McWong perform his “Address to a Haggis” rap,
surely the way the Scottish bard intended.

The Centre for Scottish Studies is
pleased to invite Alastair McIntyre, the founder and editor of the
website Electric Scotland, to SFU. He will be giving a talk and
demonstration about the terrific resources available on Electric
Scotland. We will also be thanking Alastair for his continuing support
of the endowment fund for a designated Chair of Scottish Studies at SFU
and celebrating SFU's mirroring of the Electric Scotland site. A
performance from the Gaelic Choir starts us off. 8:00-9:30 (note
difference in time from other programs), Thursday, February 17, 2011:
Room 1400, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 W. Hastings Street.

Programme:

8:00-8:30
pm. Welcoming remarks and short performance by the Gaelic Choir

We celebrated the 14th Annual Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner on January 30th, 2011.Our 2011 theme featured so many performers of Asian-Celtic-Gaelic heritage that we could have called itGung HAPA Fat Choy!

Dr. Leith Davis, director of the Centre for Scottish Studies at Simon Fraser University, cuts the haggis, as she read the 3rd verse of Robert Burns immortal poem “Address To A Haggis” as CNN reporter Percy Von Lipinski, films Leith close up. – photo Lydia Nagai

Film maker Jeff Chiba Stearns explains the meaning of “Hapa” as a word to describe people of Mixed ancestry with Asian heritage. His film “One Big Hapa Family” was featured at the 2011 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner. Co-host Patrick Gallagher, of Irish and Chinese Ancestry, looks on. – photo Lydia Nagai

Trish & Allan McMordie, with guitarists Jay MacDonald and Bob Collins, join in the singing of “I Went to a Robbie Burns Dinner” – Burns lyrics set to the tune of Johnny Cash’s famous song – “Ring of Fire” – photo Lydia Nagai

During the singing of Auld Lang Syne, people joined hands to sing…. as the Chinese Dragon weaved through the crowd. – photo Lydia Nagai

I have bought my haggis from Peter Black & Sons, at Park Royal in West Vancouver since 2000, with the exception of 2001, which I regretted. So every year in early January, I phone up Peter Black & Sons to put in my order – or they phone me to confirm. Or as was the case this year, they made up my usual order, then told me it was ready. They are great people.

Wild haggis “sleeping” in the cage.

Peter Black looks over the big box of 60 small one pounders of haggis.

40 wee haggi (plural) + 1 big 3 pounder, and a 2 pounder.

How to cook a haggis. – Click on the picture.

Frozen raw haggis, without the casing. We take a bucket of haggis to the restaurant, and they use it to make the haggis won ton and the haggis pork dumplings.

Deep-fried haggis won ton! yum yum…. Now the finished product looks inviting… next step: dip them in sweet sauce!